With the goal of training student credit ambassadors to promote health and financial literacy, the two organizations recently launched the CFA Credit Academy.

Highlighting data provided by the US Department of Education, which indicates that close to 50% of all college students say money management is a greater challenge than any other, more than 250 academics from 14 colleges and HBCUs will learn and be trained to share basic knowledge of finance, credit education, and leadership.

Gwen Garnett, HomeFree-USA Center for Financial Advancement executive director, stated:

Experian is a committed innovative partner. Understanding and mastering credit is of significant importance to the CFA Scholars. The CFA Credit Academy provides the training, tools, coaching and mentoring in a clear relevant manner that will enable the scholars to achieve their personal goals.

About the program

Launched following the 2022 Money4Life HomeFree-USA Leadership Conference, this eight-month CFA program includes a credit education program orientation with Experian's credit education experts.

Through live sessions and self-paced content, students will gain knowledge about credit and its importance so they can become ambassadors of financial information for their peers, families, and communities.

Additionally, CFA Credit Academy culminates with a hackathon competition in April, challenging all students to form teams of 4 at participating HBCUs to build the next best credit education program for their peers. The winning team will receive a $40,000 Experian-sponsored scholarship.

“This program normalizes and modernizes the conversation about credit and overall financial health. Through our partnership with the CFA, we want to ensure these students are visible within the credit ecosystem for more equitable lending when they’re ready,” said Raudy Pérez, Experian North America’s senior director for diversity, equity and inclusion partnerships.

We are ecstatic to announce our partnership with @HomeFreeUSA! We are launching the Center for Financial Advancement (CFA) Credit Academy and bringing financial training to HBCUs! Read more: https://t.co/Ewl1nAhM9y pic.twitter.com/HZnwc6ZPuj

— Experian #StaySafe (@Experian) December 8, 2022

Need for financial education

Research by Experian reveals that there are 28 million American consumers today who are unable to participate in the mainstream financial ecosystem because they do not have a financial identity.

In addition, the report notes that credit invisibility affects underserved communities more often with 26% of Hispanic consumers and 28% of Black consumers unscored or invisible, compared to 16% of White and Asian consumers, something that it can make homeownership, the biggest driver of generational wealth, even more of a challenge for diverse communities.

As part of its mission of financial inclusion and empowerment for all, Experian has partnered with HomeFree-USA to provide continuing education for its housing counselors and resources for its clients. The following incentives have been added to this initiative, which have generated greater interest in this type of education:

• Inclusion Forward: Experian Empowering Opportunities — Home preservation grant, which supported homeowners at risk of losing their homes due to COVID-related hardships with credit education and mortgage relief.
• The Mortgage Bankers Association recently honored Experian with its 2022 DEI Leadership Award.

“Access to fair and affordable credit can help them, and all consumers, get a college degree, buy a car or a home, start a business, and ultimately build wealth and achieve greater financial success,” added Pérez.